The head of the army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, reckons they should and he heaped more pressure on the government by demanding more pay for his troops. Do you agree?

Dannatt broke ranks with the Gordon Brown squeeze on public sector pay by calling for above-inflation pay increases if the army was to maintain its commitment in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"You look to see how much a traffic warden is paid and compare that against what a private soldier gets paid," he told the Sun. It reckons soldiers get between £12,5000 and £15,500, compared to traffic warden on £17,000.

The Sun urges the government to "pay attenshun" to what the general had to say. It says: "Is it any wonder 20,000 [troops] have quit?

On the ARmy Rumour SErvice (ARRSE), the popular forum for troops, many are annoyed with the Ministry of Defence, for "briefing against" Dannatt by pointing out the other perks involved in signing up.

And there is widespread support for the general's comments.

"I agree with the general's remarks, we ARE underfunded, over-used and too small for what's expected of us," says Invicta. And Baggy in Black chips in: "The Big Man just get more and more admiration from us all. Good luck to him no matter where his future takes him."

Fat_Face turns to sarcasm: "What a travesty to traffic wardens who do such a sterling job in defence of keeping the country's logistics moving and council (and private firms') coffers full."

Right-grumpy says: "How the hell the army get such a bad deal in comparison is totally beyond me!"